Westbound I-76 to Close Several Overnights Next Week for Viaduct Repair Near 30th Street in Philadelphia

Westbound I-76 to Close Several Overnights Next Week for Viaduct Repair
Near 30th Street in Philadelphia

9/22/2017-KING OF PRUSSIA

Westbound Interstate 76 will be reduced to a single lane and closed several

overnights next week at the 30th Street Interchange in Philadelphia for
construction on the overhead viaduct carrying Schuylkill Avenue over the
expressway between Walnut Street and Chestnut Street, the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today.

On Monday, September 25, through Thursday, September 28, westbound I-76
will be
reduced from two-lanes-to-one approaching the 30th Street Interchange from
9:00
PM to 11:00 PM and then closed completely from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM the
following morning for installation of shielding on the underside of the
overhead viaduct.

Motorists are advised to avoid using westbound I-76 through Center City
during
the closures as extensive backups and delays are expected approaching the
work
area. All scheduled activities are weather dependent.

When westbound I-76 is closed, traffic will be detoured to the off-ramp to
30th
Street (Exit 345), then continue north on Schuylkill Avenue to the
westbound
I-76 on-ramp near Market Street.

Westbound I-76 traffic heading for Interstate 676 in Philadelphia also will
be
impacted by the closure. Westbound I-76 motorists heading toward Center
City
Philadelphia from the Walt Whitman Bridge may use Interstate 95 north to
Interstate 676 west, back to I-76 west, or take I-676 west from New Jersey
to
the Benjamin Franklin Bridge back to westbound I-76.

The work is part of PennDOT's $103.6 million project to rehabilitate the
Chestnut Street bridge over the Schuylkill River and eight other nearby
structures, including those carrying Schuylkill Avenue over I-76 between
Walnut
Street and Chestnut Street, and between Chestnut Street and Market Street.

In addition to repairing and repainting the steel superstructure and
replacing
the deck of the main bridge carrying Chestnut Street over the Schuylkill
River
and the two Schuylkill Avenue structures over I-76, the project also
includes:

• Rehabilitating two structures on the Interstate 76 on-and-off-ramps
between
Chestnut Street and Walnut Street;
• Resurfacing Chestnut Street from 31st Street to 30th Street, and from
24th
Street to 23rd Street;
• Constructing wider sidewalks and installing decorative barrier and
railings
on the Chestnut Street and Schuylkill Avenue bridges;
• Rehabilitating a 900-foot section of the river wall structure between
I-76
and the Schuylkill River from Market Street and Walnut Street;
• Rehabilitating a 15-foot section of the retaining wall supporting the
Schuylkill River Trail under Chestnut Street;
• Installing new traffic signals, Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)
equipment, and street lighting along Chestnut Street between 31st Street
and
23rd Street;
• Replacing millennium lighting on Chestnut Street over the Schuylkill
River;
• Constructing a new trellis at the Chestnut Street Trailhead to the
Schuylkill
River Trail;
• Restriping pavement markings for a bicycle lane on Chestnut Street
between
34th Street and 22nd Street; and
• Installing a new clear acrylic barrier along Amtrak Northeast Corridor
tracks
located on the west side of Schuylkill Avenue West between Chestnut Street
and
Walnut Street.

The bridges on Chestnut Street and Schuylkill Avenue West will be under
construction concurrently and will remain open for most of the project.
There
will be various lane and sidewalk restrictions during the three stages of
construction that will require shifts in travel lane and sidewalk
configurations.

Approximately midway through the project, a detour will be in place for
about
one year on Chestnut Street from Schuylkill Avenue West to 23rd Street for
the
rehabilitation of the structurally deficient bridge carrying Chestnut
Street
over the CSX rail lines.

The Schuylkill River Trail will be closed below Chestnut Street for
approximately three months over the winter of 2017-2018 for repairs.

In addition, the on-and-off-ramps at the I-76 Interchange between Chestnut
Street and Walnut Street will be restricted to a single lane of traffic
during
construction. There will also be nighttime and weekend full closures of the

ramps during certain construction operations.

The entire project is scheduled to finish in fall 2020.

Buckley & Company Inc., of Philadelphia is the general contractor on the
project, which is financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state
funds.

For more information on the project, visit www.chestnutstreetbridges.com.

For more information on projects occurring or being bid this year, those
made
possible by or accelerated by Act 89, or those on the department's Four and

Twelve Year Plans, visit www.projects.penndot.gov.

A list of weekly road restrictions and PennDOT maintenance operations in
the
five-county Philadelphia region is available by visiting the District 6
Traffic
Bulletin at www.penndot.gov/District6.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by
visiting
www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides
traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and
access
to more than 825 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and
Android
devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts
accessible
on the 511PA website.

For more PennDOT information, visit www.penndot.gov. Follow local PennDOT
information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAPhilly, and follow the
department on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/pennsylvaniadepartmentoftransportation and Instagram at
www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot.

To view a complete list of District 6 News Releases: Click
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